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Wednesday, March 17, 2010

There Will Be Blood

Slow start this morning. Woke up just after 7 a.m. to a 433 mg/dL. Grumble.

Didn't sleep well last night, and apparently I'm accused of being restless and stealing covers. This was probably due to the High, which tends to make me a pain to be in the same bed with at night. Or so I'm told. Anyhow, this was one of those nights and now I knew the BG number to blame.

Looked down at my infusion site on my right side leg. Redness. Grumble.

Skillfully peeling the tape and Silouette stickiness away from my leg, I yank out the site.

Fortunately, I wasn't wearing anything with light colors. Anticipating what ultimately did happen, I had strategically placed a towel to cover up the newly-washed bed sheets that I had no interest in covering with blood. The foresight was to my advantage, it turned out. We had Blood. A Gusher.

With that, I've added another war-torn mark to my body. A Hallmark for any Insulin Pumper.

Grumble.

Not ready to deal with the frustrations of finding another usable site, I turned to a needle and injected the 10 units of correction bolus needed to bring me back down. (Side digression, this led to a depressing discovery, as I realized that I simply am now unable - at age 31 - to fully turn around and inject a needle into my rear-end. This hasn't ever been a problem that I remember, but there's been few injections needed in past 9 years of pumping and the few injections have been in my stomach or legs.... This may not seem like a big deal, but it is to me. This was always a safe site for me, since I wasn't and am not a man with fat in those needed injection sites... Places I need it most, it isn't there. So, I used my sitting spots. And now, I'm so out of shape I can't get there. This isn't a bright moment for me. But, I digress. Point: went with a leg injection, instead.)

Showered. Looked at clock, about 8:30 a.m. My plan to be at work early isn't happening, I thought to myself. Oh well. Prepped a site on my left abdomen. Insertion...

PAIN. Mother F'er! Yep, hit something on that one.

Yanked it out. More blood. Frustrated.

Grumble.

Put on my work clothes, including a green dress shirt in honor of St. Patty's Day. Exchanged some work emails. Talked to a law professor for a story I'm writing. Read a wonderfully funny blog about Cats and Working From Home... That's when I made the decision to work from home, at least for the morning. First to actually be able to insert a new infusion seet, then to get blood sugars back under control. Hate it when the D interferes with work, but it does happen.

Think about new site, but don't have the patience yet to deal with it. More work tasks.

Have been relatively productive in my work duties, despite the D-hurdles so far. That's one really nice thing about my day-job: the flexibility. I can work on my stories from my home office, as long as there's a phone handy. Emails exchanging. Reading of court documents or whatever the newest story entails. My boss is very understanding and awesome, and in these frustrating times of crappy infusion sites or Highs and Lows that result in lost time, it helps having those kind of people in your life.

It's now about 11:30 a.m. The morning is coming to a close, so it's time to think about getting to the office. Time to find a new site. My stomach and abdomen are war-torn, and it looks like there's been lost battles happening there. Really, I need to find new Real Estate. But, at this point, I'll go with the opposite leg for now. Don't like these sites as much, because they make me feel as though I can't do regular things like run and play with the dog, bend down normally, and not have to sit without being all cautious. But, they do tend to work for a couple days. So be it.

Test again. 147. Finally came down after that injected correction earlier. I'm happy with this. But a new site is still needed to keep that number in range.

A new infusion set sits on the table, glaring at me. Daring me to attach it to my body. My pump smirks. I'd like to throw them both against the wall, but that probably wouldn't be a financially wise move to make. Grumble. I grab the set, rip open the IV Prep, and prime the new site.

Here's to hoping there's no more blood. I've seen enough for today. Just let me be in peace. For now. No matter the fate of this infusion set debacle, if this latest one turns out OK and works for the next few days, I know there's a future I can't avoid. One with the inevitable reality that, yes, in the end no matter what you do: There Will Be Blood.

Ouchy! I had a gusher a few pods ago. Not fun. I didn't realize it because the pod was on my back. I finally caught it after my back felt a little funny and itchy. It had already soaked through my sweater I was wearing. UGH! Grr! Time for the OxyClean!

Glad your bg is coming down! You are so lucky you can stay at home and monitor this kind of thing too. :-)

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Mike Hoskins

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